I name this narrowboat…

OK, we know she’s called Skylark but we have now decided the all important issue of where her name will go, along with the font, colour and associated scrolls.
Following a lot of research over the week end, which tended to revolve around typefaces based on the upper case Times Roman (safe option or what?), we decided to be a little more adventurous. We found we both liked Papyrus in lower case. The original design involved a style based on Times Roman but was crafted to create a font that is more flowing, and it quietly exudes culture, antiquity and tradition – just what we are looking for. It is also much lighter than Times Roman, better fitting a boat called ‘Skylark’.
Next, we agreed it should be placed on the freeboard at the bow, rather than at the stern. The photo shows the typeface and location. The real thing will be much larger of course and in a complimentary pale yellow on the dark green hull.
 
The next decision was not to have any coach.lines at this stage. We don’t want Skylark to look like a fairground caravan or be a pastiche of a traditional narrowboat. One of our key aims is to get Skylark to feel like a traditional narrowboat and, to do this, it doesn't have to mimic one. So, we will take time to live with Skylark in a fairly bare state before we decide if they are needed or not. It will be much easier to have them applied later (if want them) than remove ones we don’t like. However, the sides do need a little embellishment to avoid them looking like a part-finished project so we have plumped for a couple of discrete scrolls either side of the central portholes. That will be our modest nod to the traditional.
We’re hoping to meet the sign writer in the next couple of days to explain our thoughts. Mick says he’s very good at what he does and happy to adjust things as he goes, to keep us happy with the result. It will also be good to meet him – I’ve never met someone called Maggot before!
Mick has virtually completed the electrical fit out and the stove installation. The stove sits on a solid marble hearth and the fire proof surround will be painted in a buttermilk to match the walls. Mick is still confident about finishing in time for the launch on 28 April. Our fingers are still crossed.